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Power and Portability: The V-Accordion Revolution Continues

There's plenty to love about the traditional accordion, from its expression to its portability. But if you've ever wondered where Roland's acclaimed range of digital V-Accordions could take your performances, the new Roland FR-4x is your chance to find out. With its light and compact design, responsive pressure-sensing bellows, and full-range onboard speakers, this latest model feels as familiar as your favorite acoustic accordion. But with the same powerful sound engine as Roland's flagship FR-8x, this digital accordion goes even further. Choose from a wide selection of accordion sounds from around the world, and play in silence using headphones or connect to a PA for live performance. Control other electronic musical instruments via the MIDI connector, or record your playing to a connected USB stick and share your music with the world. While its sounds and playing feel are reassuringly traditional, the Roland FR-4x is an accordion for the modern age.

37 keys and 120 left-hand buttons

Compact and lightweight

Sound module and user interface from the flagship FR-8xb

100 accordion sound sets (including 67 pre-loaded sets), 162 orchestral sounds, 32 organ sounds, 3 drum sounds

Built-in chorus, reverb, and rotary effects

Fast response and high sensitivity from bellows pressure-sensing circuitry

Bellows Resistance Regulator to adjust bellows' inertia

Character-type LCD screen

Four expansion slots for access to additional tone libraries (Balkan and Dallape expansions are pre-installed)

Powerful onboard amplification system (two speakers + one tweeter)

Headphones and line outputs

Onboard audio recorder

USB connection and MIDI I/O

USB memory port for song playback and recording

Dedicated FR-4x Editor software

Available in black or red; made in Italy

Play in Any Style with Customizable Onboard Tones

A traditional acoustic accordion offers just one dedicated sound. With its powerful sound engine carried over from the flagship FR-8x, the new FR-4x puts an entire orchestra in your hands, with a wide range of onboard sounds to support any musical style. Maybe you'll dabble in 100 preset accordion sets, switching between French musette and Russian bajan in the same song. Or perhaps you'll investigate 162 orchestral sounds derived from Roland's latest keyboards, transforming your accordion into an organ, string quartet, or bass guitar. You could add chorus, reverb, and rotary effects, or accompany your melody lines with the onboard drum sounds. And factoring in the fast, easy sound customization process-plus additional sound libraries available from the official Roland website-the FR-4x is a truly open-ended instrument with immense creative potential.

The Digital Accordion That Honors Tradition

If you play a traditional accordion, you won't want to compromise on the expressive feel and portable format. You don't have to with the Roland FR-4x, which plays like a great acoustic accordion and travels light. The intuitive layout of 37 velocity-responsive keys and 120 left-hand buttons feels instantly familiar, while the pressure-sensing bellows circuitry lets you tailor the inertia to your preference. This new digital accordion might feature lots of onboard technology, but its light and compact design-plus the option of powering from an AC adaptor or AA batteries-make it a great choice for players on the move.

Flexible Outputs for a Variety of Music-Making Scenarios

Practice. Rehearsal. Studio. Stage. The Roland FR-4x has the flexibility to support you wherever you're making music. The headphones jack lets you practice at home without disturbing the neighbors, and when you're on the go, a powerful onboard audio system with two speakers and a tweeter supplies big, full-range sound. Ambitious music makers can even connect with external MIDI devices like the Roland BK-7m Backing Module for controllable accompaniment. Gigging accordion players will appreciate that the FR-4x is fully stage-ready, providing a direct connection to a venue's PA system via the Line Out and sparing the headaches of trying to mic up a traditional accordion.

Jam with Your Favorite Songs, or Record Your Own

The USB memory port is your pathway to some of the Roland FR-4x's most useful features. By inserting a USB stick preloaded with your favorite songs or your band's latest material, you can jam along with the music as it plays back and perfect your parts at your convenience. If you want to get creative, the FR-4x also features a handy onboard recorder; simply record a new part, save it to a USB stick, and then transfer your creation to a computer and share it with the world. USB export also allows you to safely archive your customized sound settings.

Keyboard, Bass & Bellows
Right hand: 37 keys (with velocity sensitivity)
Left hand: 120 bass buttons (with velocity sensitivity)
Bass & Chord Mode (Left-Hand Keyboard Note Layout): 2 Bass Rows, 3 Bass Rows A-7th, 3 Bass Rows A-5dim, 3 Bass Rows B-7th, 3 Bass Rows B-5dim, 3 Bass Rows Bx-7th, 3 Bass Rows Belgium
Free Bass Mode (Left-Hand Keyboard Note Layout): Minor 3rd, Bajan, Fifth, North Europe, Finnish
Bellows: High-resolution pressure sensor for the detection of bellows pressure
Bellows resistance regulator: wheel with fine adjustment
Bellows curve: Fixed Low, Fixed Med, Fixed High, X-Light, Light, Standard, Heavy, X-Heavy, Close, Open, Tango, Traditional, Jazz, Classic, Dynamic1, Dynamic2
Sound source
Max polyphony: 128 voices
Tones (Accordion Set): 100 Accordion Sets
Each Accordion Set includes (number of sounds that can be assigned to the register buttons):
Right Hand Registers: 14 Accordion registers, 14 Orchestra registers, 14 Organ registers
Left Hand Registers: 7 Bass & Chord registers, 7 Free Bass registers,
7 Orchestra Bass registers, 7 Orchestra Chord registers, 7 Orchestra Free Bass registers
Reed Footages: 7 Treble, 5 Bass, 3 Chord, 2 Free Bass
Orchestral sounds: 162
* Orchestral sounds can also be used with orchestral bass sounds, orchestral chord sounds, and orchestral free bass sounds.
Organ sounds (Virtual Tone Wheel): 32 presets for Treble, Orchestra Chord and Orchestra Free Bass sections,
16 presets for Orchestra Bass section
Drum Sets: 3
User Programs: 98: 7 User Program Bank x 14 registers
PBM (Physical Behavior Modeling)
Noises: Stopping-reed growl, Closing valve noise, Left button noise
Individual Reed Simulation: Hysteresis Threshold, Expression Curve, Pressure-Variant Filter, Pressure-Variant Pitch Deviation
Switching Reed Sound Wave: By bellows acceleration, by note repetition speed
Bellows opening/closing sound change: By bellows opening/closing detection
Musette Tuning
Micro-Tuning Presets: 16 Types: Off, Dry, Classic, F-Folk, American L/H, North Europe, German L/H, D-Folk L/H, Alpine, Italian L/H, French, Scottish
Fine Tuning reed footages 8- / 8+: -100 to 0 to +100
Effects
Reverb: 8 types
* Includes delay type.
Chorus: 8 types
* Includes delay type.
Rotary for Organ sound: Slow/Fast
“Cassotto” simulation: Yes
4 Band EQ for Internal Speakers: Yes
Panel Controls
Knob controls & Registers: Volume, Balance, Reverb, Chorus,
Right hand register buttons 7 x 2
* Use the A/B button to switch between sounds assigned to the register buttons.
Left hand register buttons 7
Navigation switches: Menu/Write, Exit/No, Enter/Yes, Cursor , Value -/+ (Set Down/Up)
Other switches: Right Hand Parts switches (Accordion, Orchestra, Organ)
Left Hand Parts switches (Drums, Orch Bass, Orch Chrd/F.Bass, F.Bass, Bass&Chrd)
User Program, Song List, Play/Pause, Rec, Power
Additional switches: 6 user assignable function switches on last row of bass buttons
Operation Mode
Right Hand Keyboard Mode: Layer (Zone), High, Low
Octave Shift: -3, 0, +3 for Orchestra
This setting can be saved individually for each set.
-1, 0, +1 for Treble, Orchestra, Organ (Right hand)
This setting can be saved individually for each user program.
Orchestra Chord Guitar Mode: Gtr Table1, Gtr Table2, Gtr Table3
Sound Edit: Yes
* The dedicated editor allows full editing.
Bass to Treble: Yes
Part Mute: Accordion, Orchestra, Organ, Bass&Chord, Free Bass, Orch Bass, Orch Chord, Orch Free Bass
Bass & Chord with drum/percussion sounds: Programmable drum/percussion sounds for Bass/Orch Bass rows, Chord/Orchestra Chord rows.
Audio Player and Audio REC: MP3/WAV file playback from a USB flash drive, WAV file recording to a USB flash drive
Speakers On/Off: Yes
Left-hand Button Keyboard Layer: Yes
Other
Display: Custom LCD (8 characters + 16 segments x 4)
Rated Power Output: 2 x 11 W
Speakers: 2 x 10 cm
1 x Tweeter
Wave Expansion: 4 internal areas (8 MB each) to load new sounds
* When shipped from the factory, sounds are pre-installed in two areas.
Power supply: AC adaptor
Batteries (AA-type rechargeable Ni-MH x 10)
* Expected battery life under continuous use: 5 hours speaker ON mode, 9 hours speaker OFF mode
Current Draw: 2,000 mA
Onboard connectors: OUTPUT jacks L/Mono (Treble), R/Mono (Bass): 1/4” phone type
PHONES jack: Stereo 1/4” phone type
INPUT jack: Stereo miniature phone type
MIDI (IN or OUT) connectors
USB MEMORY port
USB COMPUTER port (USB Hi-Speed MIDI support)
(Use a USB cable and a USB port on your computer that supports Hi-Speed USB.)
DC IN jack
Accessories: AC Adaptor
Power cord (for connecting the AC adaptor)
Owner’s Manual
Reference caps for the bass buttons
Straps
Accordion cover
Attachment strip
Option (sold separately): USB Flash memory
Soft case for accordion (BAG-FR-3)
Headphones
MIDI foot controller (FC-300)
Size and Weight
Width: 481 mm
18-15/16 inches
Depth: 270 mm
10-11/16 inches
Height: 430 mm
16-15/16 inches
Weight: 8.9 kg
19 lbs. 10 oz.
(Without straps and batteries)